Atletico vs. Real Madrid
Venue: Estadio Wanda Metropolitano
Kick off: 8:45PM
Atletico Madrid welcome city rivals Real Madrid to Estadio Wanda Metropolitano this evening in the first El Derbi showdown to be staged at their plush new 68,000-capacity home.
The sides head into the 161st league instalment of this fixture locked on 23 points apiece, already eight adrift of leaders Barcelona who have made a near-perfect start.
Should Atletico avoid defeat to their neighbours this evening, it will mark their longest unbeaten run to start a league campaign, but that does not quite tell the whole story.
Under a transfer ban and unable to freshen up their squad until January, when Diego Costa and Vitolo will both arrive, Los Rojiblancos appear to have stagnated somewhat and are currently languishing in fifth after drawing five of their 11 matches thus far.
Being one of three unbeaten sides in the division is all well and good, though Diego Simeone knows that his side quite simply have to start putting away their chances to kill games off, or else it could be another season of frustration for the 2014 champions.
Atleti have won just two of their last nine games in all competitions, scoring seven goals during that run and never more than once in a single match, leaving them at risk of being caught by a clutch of top-four chasers and on the brink of an early Champions League exit.
The home European tie with Qarabag FK last month arguably epitomised Atletico’s season more than any other game so far, as they created ample opportunities to win the game but struggled to find a way through, eventually having to settle for yet another draw – their ninth in 16 matches overall.
Atletico’s start to the season has been far from disastrous, however, as they still remain in the mix at the top end of the division and are level with Real on points, but the mood around the Metropolitano may well change depending on today’s outcome.
Meanwhile, approaching two years on from Zinedine Zidane’s appointment as Madrid manager, the Frenchman can still hold claim to winning more trophies during his senior management career than La Liga games lost.
With seven major honours under his belt, most recently becoming the first boss of the Champions League era to win back-to-back European crowns, it seemed unlikely that his credentials would ever truly be questioned at the Bernabeu.
Three months into the 2017-18 campaign, however, and we have already witnessed the first murmurs of discontent, having lost three and draw two of their 15 matches in all competitions.
Atletico Madrid possible XI: Oblak, Juanfran, Savic, Godin, Filipe Luis, Koke, Gabi, Partey, Saul, Griezmann, Correa.
Real Madrid possible XI: Casilla, Carvajal, Ramos, Varane, Marcelo, Modric, Casemiro, Kroos, Isco, Benzema, Ronaldo.